Source: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/message-from-the-director-of-csis-on-the-new-anti-terror-bill
Message from the Director of CSIS on the new anti-terror bill
Michel Columbe, Head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
FRED CHARTRAND / THE CANADIAN PRESS
The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) welcomes the introduction of legislation to better enable the Government to safeguard the nation's security interests.
The new legislation will help CSIS protect Canadian lives from a terrorist threat unprecedented in our country's history.
The globalization of terrorism has come to pose a real peril not just to Canada but to other western nations. Last fall two terrorist attacks took place in Canada, the first one in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and the second in downtown Ottawa. Since then, the threat has accelerated as extremist groups call for additional attacks on Canada.
Not only have Canadian extremists begun to play a central role in terrorist propaganda but some are assuming leadership roles in terrorist groups. Communications technology allows them to plot attacks, recruit and build networks from anywhere in the world. Detecting and mitigating the threat posed by radicalized Canadians and their global co-conspirators is a tremendous challenge, and Canada's intelligence community requires the tools to meet it.
Three decades ago when the CSIS Act was drafted and the principal threat was espionage, the intelligence community had the luxury of watching targets over a long period of time, perhaps years. A foreign spy's objectives in Canada were typically incremental and predictable. However, today the overriding national security concern is terrorism, and unlike most threats of 30 years ago, these threats can escalate and endanger public safety with little or no warning. The goal of terrorists is not to steal intelligence in the countries they target but to kill people. It is no longer appropriate simply to detect and analyze the threat; there needs to be a capacity to counter it.
CSIS is sensitive to the fact that personal freedom is the cornerstone of a democratic and open society. The Service uses its legislative prerogatives responsibly and only as necessary under our legal mandate. We welcome the judicial oversight, review processes and many other safeguards that have always ensured – and will continue to ensure – that our efforts to protect our fellow citizens are not only consistent with, but will strengthen, Canada's democratic tradition.
– Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), Michel Coulombe
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